SoftBank Backed Out of Its $16 Billon Majority Stake in WeWork and Is Investing $2 Billon Instead

SoftBank has backed off its plans to invest an additional $16 billion into the privately held workspace startup WeWork, according to the Financial Times.

Instead, the Japanese tech company will invest just $2 billion, according to the report. The deal has not yet been finalized.

SoftBank's initial plan, reported in October, would have given it a majority stake in WeWork. But the size of the deal reportedly upset some of its biggest financial backers in Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi.

Instead, SoftBank will invest just $2 billion, according to Financial Times, which said WeWork and SoftBank are late in the negotiation process. The deal is expected to be announced early next week, though it has not been finalized, according to the report, which cites anonymous sources.

SoftBank has already invested $8 billion into the startup.

SoftBank's plan to invest $16 billion into WeWork was first reported by The Wall Street Journal back in October.

That investment would have given the Japanese tech company a majority stake in WeWork. But SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son reportedly faced criticism from the company's biggest backers in Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi over the size of the deal.

Under the new terms, the deal will not include money from the SoftBank Vision Fund, the investment arm of the company which backed the majority of its existing $8 billion investment.

A WeWork spokesperson declined to comment on the report. SoftBank did not immediately return requests for comment.

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